The Potential role of suburban mini industrial estates: A case study of the Coquitlam area

• Main Author: Mutter, Roy James
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2011
• Subjects: Industrial sites > British Columbia > Coquitlam
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/35126

Mini industrial estates and the potential role they can play in hastening the rate of industrial development in suburban areas is the subject of this study. Industrial development in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area is proceeding at a slower rate than had previously been anticipated in 1961 by the planners of the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board. The five year forecast for 1966, for occupied industrial land, was optimistically high as shown by a comparison with the 1966 Industrial Survey figures. However, the private industrial estates of Annacis Island, Delta and Lake City, Burnaby are developing at a faster rate than is the total industrial picture. One other industrial estate, Brighouse, in Richmond commenced operation during the five year period, and thus was not included in the figures of the original 1961 Industrial Survey. Because of the success of the industrial estates in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area, the author considers in Chapter I, small industries as possible starters for a small scale mini industrial estate. Chapter II investigates industrial estates with specific reference to the historical development of estates and the latter's reasons for growth. Secondly, mini industrial estates come under consideration with emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of a mini industrial estate locating in a suburban area. To investigate the concept of mini industrial estates in a Metropolitan Area, the author in Chapter III, analyzes an extensive Industrial Survey which was undertaken in 1966 by the staff of the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board. From the data, nineteen mini industrial estates were selected for a preliminary investigation; the main criteria for selection being that each estate should have five or more small firms occupying one site. A more intensive questionnaire survey was then prepared for six mini industrial estates selected from the original nineteen estates. The answers to the questionnaires coupled with library research related in Chapters I and II, were instrumental in isolating three pertinent factors regarding the location of a mini industrial estate. These three factors are: complementarity; transportation; and investment, both by the municipality and a large industrial firm. Finally, in Chapter IV, the Coquitlam Area is selected for a case study to investigate the future role of mini industrial estates. This study proposes that the potential of the mini industrial estate will provide one solution to the problem of slow industrial development within the suburban areas of Greater Vancouver. The implementation of this concept should be a municipal responsibility, and the guidelines selected in this study will be of value to the suburban municipalities regarding the location and administration of a mini industrial estate. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of === Graduate